William Allen Wallace

(1815-1893) William Allen Wallace was born in New Hampshire and relocated at the beginning of the gold rush to northern California in 1850, at first choosing to start farming in the Napa Valley. This did not prove to be financially worthwhile, and he headed for the gold country. Having no luck, he headed to Los Angeles to become editor of a newspaper. During his time there, he became a plant collector. It was a dangerous moment in time in southern California, prompting him to leave for home, bringing the plants along with him.

Wallace paid Asa Gray a visit at Harvard College. giving the plant specimens to him. Gray instructed him how to properly collect and prepare plant specimens for submission. He traveled back and forth many times between his home in New Hampshire and Los Angeles, where in 1853 he purchased and edited the Los Angeles Star and taught school in San Gabriel. He became an honorary member of the California Academy of Sciences for his work as a field botanist in 1856. He continued to visit Asa Gray with plants from his collecting trips.